Itsumo
by bffimagine
Summary: Ban and Ginji are dedicated to each other 24 7: no matter what. But nothing lasts forever... BanGin
1. Chapter 1

Bffimagine: New fic! I've gone from a couple fandoms and I'm now returning to Yu Yu Hakusho and Get Backers -.-'

Ban: Uh… nice to know we're second best…

Ginji: Aw, Ban-chan! She doesn't mean it that way. Does she .?

Itsumo

Warnings:

Shonen ai: You all know what that's about .

Violence: Since when was it missing?

Sappiness: What's a story without it :P

()

Ban sat awake in the Ladybug, his wet clothing clinging tightly to his pale skin, and he shuddered slightly as a breeze drifted through the open window.

His long, thin fingers rested on the forehead of his blonde partner. Ginji had a high fever, and though it chilled him to the bone, Ban had to get him to cool down. And one method for this was to leave the window open for fresh air.

'Ginji…'

The electric dynamo's clothes were dry, but were getting damper with cold sweat. Ban had all the blankets wrapped tightly around the thunder lord, and gently stroked the soft blonde spikes of hair.

Finally, the brown-haired Japanese quarter-German Get Backer snapped. His worry for his partner drove him insane, and finally he decided to take his companion to a doctor… no matter the cost.

A chill ran down Ban's spine and the wind whipped through his soaking wet hair. The torrential rain hadn't stopped as yet.

"Damn weather…" Ban muttered to himself. It was the rain that had caused Ginji to get sick in the first place. And of course, the invincible Midou Ban-sama NEVER got sick.

Thick, salty raindrops splattered on the windshield, the wipers scraping them away as they fell. Ban sped through the empty streets, avoiding puddles and barely managing to not skid off the road.

And finally, through the hazy, watery light Ban saw the doctor's clinic come into view, a tiny grey speck on the horizon.

There was a sput and a splutter, and the car's engine gave out. Ban cursed under his breath but couldn't wait. He quickly wrapped both their rain jackets over Ginji and covered the other Get Backer's head, then picked him up and made a dash for the clinic, rain completely drenching him to the core.

Running through countless puddles, after what seemed an eternity, Ban made it to the doctor's.

The little bell chimed merrily as Ban burst through, breathing heavily and ice-cold after his rain sprint.

It was a rainy winter day in Japan, where the atmosphere was ludicrously freezing cold and the rain didn't help any, though it managed to stay liquid and stubbornly refused to become snow.

So naturally, everyone was a home, avoiding the outdoors, and no one was crazy enough to come to visit the doctor.

Empty chairs were all around Ban. He walked up to the counter with Ginji in his arms.

With an urgent tone, he panted breathlessly, "I need to see the doctor."

"I can see that sir. Just sign these forms—"

"I DON'T HAVE TIME TO SIGN ANY DAMN FORMS! IF MY PARTNER DIES RIGHT NOW I'LL RIP EVERY PAPER YOU HAVE IN THIS DAMN OFFICE!" Ban yelled impatiently, his voice hoarse and weak with an apparent oncoming cold.

'I can't be getting sick now,' Ban thought, and brushed it away arrogantly.

"Uh… yes sir," the flustered nurse stuttered. She called up the doctor.

"Yes. Um, Ms. Oshuhari? You have a patient. Room three-fourteen? Alright."

"Alright sir, please go down the hall to your left and turn right, there should be a door labelled three-one-four. Dr. Oshuhari is waiting inside."

Sudden fatigue drained Ban of his previous anger. He nodded and uttered a courteous, "Thank you," and hurried off, his legs beginning to ache and his skin beginning to feel hot.

Dr. Oshuhari was slightly surprised when a flushed teenage boy flung open the door with an equally young, flushed boy in his arms.

"Ah… may I ask your name, sir?" she asked pleasantly.

The boy nodded, looking uncomfortable and tired.

"Midou Ban. This is Amano Ginji."

Ban set Ginji onto the doctor's inspection table.

"I don't think I need to ask what happened," the doctor sighed as she saw the water puddling at Ban's feet.

"Hn." Ban swayed slightly in his steps, and his vision was blurry and the room just didn't want to stay still. He shakily made his way to a chair, and forced down a cough.

'I CAN'T BE GETTING SICK,' he told himself, and regained as much of his composure as possible.

"Do you know how long he was in the rain?" Dr. Oshuhari carefully unwrapped the raincoats from Ginji and was surprised to find he was perfectly dry.

Ban shook his head and instantly regretted it as his temples began to pulse painfully.

"No idea."

"He has a high fever, but nothing dangerous. If you can get him this medicine from a pharmacy, then he'll be fine by sometime next week."

The doctor handed Ban a slip of paper. The prescription was unreadable, but Ban made sure he took good care of it, folding it neatly and holding it tight in his hand.

"Okay. Is that all?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Ban stood to leave, and wobbled slightly, but he bit his lips and straightened himself out.

Carefully wrapping Ginji again, he picked up his companion and left, nodding curtly as he walked out the door.

The nurse at the front desk looked half-fearful, half-concerned as Ban opened the door, almost panting, his face flushed a rosy pink. The annoying jingle of the bells set his head ablaze with pain again, and he just barely managed to stumble out the door without falling flat into a puddle.

And so began the tedious trudge back to the Ladybug.

Grimacing, Ban peeled his wet clothes off his skin, shivering as the cold air kissed his body with freezing-cold lips. He wrapped a large towel around his shoulders and another around his legs, leaving the other four to act as blankets for Ginji.

Speaking of the lightning lord, he was currently buried under a mound of blankets, towels, and even his and Ban's changes of clothing and jackets. His breathing was slightly easier now that he was warm and dry, and his face had lost some of the heated pink flush.

Ban gritted his teeth against the cold. By tomorrow morning, he would have to walk to the nearest gas station to buy gas and possibly food for himself and Ginji…

Lazy, stressed thoughts crossed through Ban's mind until he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Morning light shone through the window's of the Ladybug. Ban blinked and stretched, shivering at the lingering fingers of freezing cold air. He looked at his watch and cringed; 5:30 A.M., and the sun was rising already. They really didn't call it the 'Land of the Rising Sun' for nothing.

Sighing deeply, Ban sat up. His clothes were still soaking wet, and he was still wrapped in nothing but two towels.

Immediately, he checked on Ginji.

His blonde companion was sleeping soundly, and Ban didn't want to wake him. He very cautiously took a set of his clothes from the mound of fabrics that covered his partner, and briskly set out of the car to make his journey, and stop by the pharmacy on the way.

Rain still hung in the air, perfuming the oxygen with a soft, musty smell of water and wet earth. Though the actual raining stopped, there was still water almost everywhere you looked.

Feverish heat had risen to Ban's head. It pounded painfully, and unbearable aching wracked his entire body. He was so tired, he would've favoured curling up to sleep in a warm, dry place. But of course, a Get Backer has no down time. Inhaling sharply, Ban set off, walking as quickly as his strained muscles would allow.

A hazy building came into view. It was the pharmacy. Ban pulled the prescription he had tucked into his pocket out, and held it tightly in his hand. Opening the door, the effervescent chime of bells greeted him.

"Hello, sir, and how may I help you?" the pharmacist was a polite, well-groomed man behind the flawless white counter that sectioned off the little shop from the hundreds of shelves and racks behind it.

"I have a prescription," Ban said softly, handing the pharmacist the slip of paper. Nodding, the tall, red-haired man brought down different powders and liquids. He used an old-fashioned mortar and pestle, pounding the ingredients together. And scraping the medicine into a curious-looking machine, pills were compressed and flowed out of the machine into a bottle.

Quickly, the pharmacist covered the bottle and handed it to Ban.

"That will be 900, 000 yen, sir."

Ban bit his tongue. He knew the medicine would be expensive, but this was ridiculous. Anyhow, Ginji needed it, so Ban paid the man and left, holding the bottle tightly in his hands.

As it turned out, when Ban got to the gas station, he didn't have enough money for very much gas. So he bought as much as he could afford, as well as some food for Ginji, and dragged himself back to the car with the heavy plastic jugs of gasoline and the plastic bag with Ginji's food and medicine in it.

When he reached the car at last, he poured the fuel into the gas tank and stowed the empty jugs in the trunk. He exhaled deeply, closing the lid to the gas tank, and opened the door and got into the car.

"Ban-chan?"

Half-jumping, Ban turned to his partner.

"Oi, what is it, Ginji?"

"I'm hungry."

"I know you are."

Ginji smiled weakly at Ban.

Reaching into the plain white plastic bag, Ban pulled out the bottle of pills.

"Can you swallow this, Ginji?"

Nodding, Ginji slowly began to sit up.

He took the small bluish-green pills from Ban's slender hand and popped them into his mouth, swallowing with a disgusted expression.

"It… tastes bitter," Ginji whispered.

Ban smiled a small, tired smile.

"Well, you'd better eat this," Ban handed Ginji the container of soup he had bought from the gas station.

To Ginji's delight, it was still hot. Ban sat back against the seat, and soon fell fast asleep.

bffimagine: OOOOOOOOOooooh. I don't know if that's really a cliffie or not…

Ban: Who cares? Just finish the damn story!

Ginji: Aw, Ban-chan, that fever's getting to you.

Ban: I AM NOT SICK!

Bffimagine: -.-' Riiiiight. Well, you all SHOULD know the drill. REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

Bffimagine: Here I am again…

Ban: And then you should leave… again…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Ban-chan?"

The aforementioned Get Backer jolted awake with a start.

"Ginji? What is it?"

"Is something bothering you, Ban-chan?"

"No. Why do you ask?" Ban snapped a little harsher than he meant to. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Listen, Ginji. You go back to sleep, and I'll get you something to eat. You relax today, okay? I'll handle the jobs HEVN has for us." The car door opened with a soft 'click'.

"Ban-chan?"

Ban looked back over his shoulder at the blonde still in the car.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"Be careful."

Nodding, Ban walked off to meet HEVN at the café.

"MIDO!"

Ban winced.

"Yes HEVN?"

"Oh. There you are." HEVN smiled and combed through her long platinum-blonde hair with her fingers.

"She's been yelling at the top of her lungs as if you'd hear her," Paul sniggered from behind his trademark newspaper.

"We told her to use the phone," Natsumi giggled, "But then we realized you guys didn't use the cell phone anymore… so she just kept yelling."

Ban watched them impassively, as Shido did from the counter.

"So, Snake Bastard, where's Ginji-sama?" Shido looked mildly surprised that Ginji wasn't with Ban.

"He's still in the car sleeping. He caught a bad cold after last night when SOMEONE"—threatening, pointed glance at HEVN—"had us out on a long mission in the POURING rain."

"I didn't know it was going to be such a storm, Ban-kun."

Shaking his head, Ban sat at the counter a few seats away from Shido.

"Oi, Snake Bastard, you okay?"

The evident, albeit pretty, flush had returned to Ban's usually milky skin.

"Aa, just tired."

"Ban-kun, did you catch a cold too?"

"Of course not. When are the clients going to be here?"

HEVN looked at her watch.

"In about half an hour."

"Paul, could you get Mido some tea? I don't want him passing out in front of me," Shido huffed and handed Paul the money.

"No problem. Ban, is there anything I can get you otherwise?"

"Some food for Ginji."

"Are you sure you don't want anything?"

In his mind, Ban replied, 'No, I can't afford anything else', but he stopped himself and simply answered, "No, thanks."

Shido eyed Ban suspiously as he sat patiently, waiting for the clients to come. About ten minutes passed, and Paul was back with food and Ban's tea.

Ban paid (A/N: WOW! He PAID!) and picked up the food. He declared softly over his shoulder: "I'll be back in a bit," and headed out the door.

The walk to Ginji was short, but uncomfortable. It was extremely cold outside, the frigid air caressing Ban's skin like tongues of freezing fire.

"Ginji?"

A mumbled reply came and Ban clambered into the car. He handed the food to his half-asleep partner, who awoke at the smell of something edible.

"Ban-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want any?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I ate at the café already," Ban lied. He didn't want Ginji to worry about him and get even sicker.

Ginji didn't seem convinced, but his skeptical expression melted away as he began to eat the food hungrily.

"Go back to sleep, Ginji," Ban whispered smoothly once Ginji had finished inhaling his food.

Nodding sleepily, Ginji was snoring quietly within minutes.

Satisfied, Ban left, walking back to the café in the blistering cold winds of winter.

"Wow, back that soon, Ban-kun?" HEVN smiled from over her sunglasses.

"Ban-sama, is Ginji-kun alright?" Natsumi looked anxious.

"Hai, Ginji's fine. And I didn't park that far away." Ban sat down at his seat again. His breathing had become slightly more erratic and the flush made his face feel hot, though the rest of him was freezing cold. He forced himself not to shiver and he clenched his long, slender fingers into tight fists.

"Snake Bastard, you sure you're alright?"

"For God's sake, Shido! Stop worrying about me! It's Ginji with the cold and high fever!" Ban didn't even know where he was coming from when he began to yell.

"You've been up all night, Snake Bastard." Shido peered into the troubled, deep cyan eyes of the Jagan wielder.

"JUST SHUT UP, SHIDO!"

"That was unnecessary, Ban-kun." HEVN frowned and the group waited tensely for the clients.

"There's definitely something wrong with him," Shido stated.

"How do you know?" Natusmi asked curiously.

"He used my name twice within five minutes. Usually he just calls me 'Monkey Tamer'."

Ban swayed on his feet a little, not even realizing he had jumped up from his seat when he last yelled at Shido. Wearily, he sat back down.

"You're right, Shido-kun!" HEVN remarked. Ban growled under his breath.

Before anything else was said, the door swung open.

"Uhm, hello? I'm Ririzuri Takehata and this is my brother Akamichi." A tall, white-gloved man in a formal black tuxedo waved to a very slightly shorter man beside him. Both had enticing silver eyes and oddly blue hair. Though the shorter one was wearing a white tuxedo in contrast to his brother's black one.

"I believe we are your clients," Akamichi stated curtly.

Ban nodded and Shido glanced uneasily at the smaller teen.

"We need to you get a very valuable certificate back," Takehata shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"It was taken by some thug. We have no idea where it's being hidden, but it is of great importance." Akamichi towered menacingly above Ban.

"State your fee," Takehata remarked.

"Whatever you're willing to pay," Ban shrugged coolly. He took out a pad of paper and started writing fervently on it.

"Twelve million yen."

HEVN almost fell straight off her chair and Paul choked on his coffee. Natsumi dropped the dish she was holding and a few slivers slid across the floor, a few strays sinking into Ban's leg. He absent-mindedly picked the glass shards out of his flesh and flicked away the drops of blood.

"Are you sure?" he asked tentatively, "That is a very generous offer."

Shido made a conscious effort to shut his mouth, which had been hanging open as wide as his jaw allowed.

"Yes. Are you willing to accept the job?" Akamichi looked doubtful of their abilities, and analyzed them, looking them up and down. Takehata also looked a little skeptical, but his incredulity didn't show as conspicuously as his brother's.

"We accept," Shido answered, Ban too busy trying to stay conscious.

The little pain inflicted by the tiny lacerations from the glass had set Ban's head whirring. He couldn't think straight and felt dizzy.

"Thank you," Takehata bowed his head and he and Akamichi left the Honky Tonk café. They threw a large orangey-brown envelope on a booth as they exited.

Ban's breathing became heavier, more labored. A pool of blood collected at the bottom of his left shoe.

"Snake Bastard?" Shido grasped Ban's shoulders firmly with two hands and shook him gently.

Ban's head lolled off to the side, his neck not having enough strength to hold it up. His entire body collapsed and Shido caught him just in time, before he fell face-first into the mess of glass shards. The blood kept pooling from the small cuts.

"BAN!" Shido yelled. By now Natsumi was searching frantically for the first aid kit and HEVN was carefully scooping up all the glass. Paul motioned Shido into the back room, and the beast master nodded as he swept Ban off his feet and set him onto a cot that was in a small, cozy room behind the kitchen.

"What happened to him?" Natsumi inquired, her voice trembling almost as badly as her fingers.

HEVN's face was pale. She whipped out gauze bandages and pressed them over Ban's cut leg, trying haplessly to stop the strangely profuse bleeding.

"Such a high fever," Shido murmured as his fingers brushed lightly over Ban's forehead.

All of a sudden, Ginji burst through the Honky Tonk doors, panting heavily.

"What happened?" he demanded immediately.

"Ginji! You're sick. Go back to sleep on a booth," HEVN ordered, but Ginji shook his head.

"I'm all better because of the medicine Ban-chan got for me. Why is he bleeding?" Ginji really did have a one-tracked mind.

"Natsumi-chan dropped a dish. A few shards must have cut him, but there aren't any pieces in him. I saw him pick the shards out." HEVN was holding her breath as she explained, still pressing down on Ban's leg with a towel.

"He's sick, Ginji-sama," Shido interjected quickly.

"His blood's thin," Paul remarked, "I don't think he's eaten in a while."

"That would explain so much blood." HEVN pressed down a little harder.

Shido swept out of the room, soon returning with a bowl of cold water and a small towel.

"HOW DID YOU FIND THAT?" Paul asked incredulously. Shido didn't answer as he handed the bowl and towel to Ginji.

"I believe you would want to take care of Sna—Ban, Ginji-sama."

Ginji nodded and gratefully took the towel and bowl from Shido.

He wet the cloth and put it over Ban's forehead while Shido picked up the envelope left by their clients.

"It's a picture of the person who stole the certificate," he announced to the others, "And a picture of the certificate."

"That's not any certificate," Ban remarked hoarsely, "It's a legalization for a plot of land. Quite a bit, I might add."

"How'd you know, Ban-kun? You never saw the certificate." HEVN lifted the towel to inspect the cut, and found it had stopped bleeding.

"Why else would it be so important? And besides, the 'thug' was Harasumi Irokazu, a notorious land-stealer."

Shido's breath caught when he saw the name scrawled on the picture of the convict. It was, it loopy, sloppy writing, 'Harasumi Irozaku'.

"You knew, Snake-Bastard?"

"I don't think you noticed when I took out my notepad and started drawing?" Ban's voice held a smirk but was very weak and tired.

"I thought you were writing the names of our clients and then the price they'd pay."

"Of course. I wrote that as fast as I could. Here."

Ban reached into his pocket and tossed Shido the notepad which still held a black pen in its coils.

Cocking an eyebrow, Shido flipped open the notepad to where it naturally separated due to the pen's position. Ban's strong, elegant writing flowed along the page, the beautiful letters covering the paper. Shido flipped a couple more pages and found the most recent one, like all the others written on in straight, beautiful letters, spelling out the date, the names 'Ririzuri Akamichi and Takehata' and the price they were willing to pay, 12 million yen, and a detailed, precise sketch of the person in the photograph, Harasumi Irozaku. It was a perfect drawing, and Shido almost goggled at the fact Ban drew it.

"I didn't know you were an artist, Ban," he tried to sneer, but the awe was painfully evident in his voice.

"Ban-chan is a violinist and an artist!" Ginji piped up proudly. Ban managed a weak smile.

"He sings too, and dances," Natsumi giggled. All eyes set on the young girl.

"What are you talking about, Natsumi?" Paul asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I saw him performing at a... I think it was a high-class nightclub. It was kind of funny to see Ban-sama dance ballet in front of a huge crowd." Natsumi grinned. "He dances other stuff too, but I don't know what it was called. And then he did these cool acrobatics things."

"Ban-kun?" HEVN looked down at Ban, her eyes searching him.

Ban flushed and turned away, mumbling incoherent things that were inaudible to all but Shido with his bat-like hearing.

"So… mother made you dance, huh, Ban?"

"SHUT UP, MONKEY TAMER!"

Ginji laughed at his friends' antics, happy that they finally got along, somewhat…

Ban jumped out of the bed, collected the bowl of water and small towel, and put them away. He walked back to the room and gave Ginji a significant glance.

"We have a job to do. Let's go."

"But Ban-chan…"

"No 'buts'. We have a mission."

"You're sick, Ban-chan."

"I don't GET sick, Ginji."

"Well, you're sick now. Sit down, Ban." Ginji motioned to an empty chair and Ban obliged, knowing that when Ginji didn't add 'chan' to the end of his name, he meant serious business.

Now sitting, Ban shifted uncomfortably under Ginji's mercilessly relentless gaze. It was stern and unwavering, set on Ban's face.

Shutting his eyes and bracing himself for the worst, Ban dropped his head and refused to meet Ginji's set brown orbs.

Gentle fingers tenderly lifted Ban's chin so it was level with Ginji's face.

"Ban, open your eyes."

Opening his eyes slowly, reluctantly, Ban obeyed.

Soft lips pressed against Ban's in a quick, chaste kiss. Shocking blue eyes widened behind purple lenses.

Ban was first to pull away, staring at Ginji in disbelief.

"Ginji…"

Ginji wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into a warm embrace cut off the smaller Get Backer.

"Don't do that ever again, Ban-chan. Don't ever get sick again."

The words were whispered quietly into Ban's ear.

"Ginji…"

Ginji was silent. Ban could tell he was listening.

"Aishiteru."

Lips curled into a small smile against Ban's skin.

"Aishiteru, Ban-chan."

"HA! NATSUMI, YOU AND PAUL BOTH OWE ME 500 YEN!" HEVN yelled at the top of her lungs.

'They were listening?' Ban and Ginji thought in unison. They looked at each other.

"What were you betting on, HEVN!" Ban bellowed, instantaneously furious with the other people that had suddenly come from the back room into the diner, where he and Ginji had temporarily resided.

"Oh, nothing, Ban-kun."

"For you to win 1, 000 yen, it's something."

"I bet that you'd get together with Shido," Natsumi blurted out, "And HEVN-san said you'd get together with Ginji. Paul-sama said you'd be with anybody but those two, and even though that was sort of unfair… well, we knew you'd go with one of those two."

HEVN gave Ginji a wink and Ban blushed a soft rosy pink.

Shido, however, looked completely appalled.

"HOW THE HELL DID I GET INTO THIS!" he screamed in rage at the now-shrinking Paul, HEVN and Natsumi.

"Oh, come on Shido-kun. We all know you have the hots for Ban." HEVN shot the beast-master a mischievous grin.

It was now Shido's turn to blush and fumble.

Ginji laughed light-heartedly and Ban looked completely confused.

"And so… I guess that all depended on me, right?" he mumbled. HEVN, Natsumi and Paul nodded matter-of-factly.

A thick silence was slathered over the room like money was on an affluent-looking mansion, so thick it made you want to take a butter knife and cut through it to spread on toast.

"Let's go." Shido grabbed Ban and Ginji by the wrists and dragged them outside, and the Get Backers were more than happy to oblige.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Well… here we are." The Get Backers plus Shido made a quick getaway and managed to arrive at the quite large estate of Harasumi Irozaku. Or at least… one of them…

Shido was still blushing hotly from when they left the café, and refused to look straight at Ban. It was slightly unnerving.

"Do you want to bother infiltrating or just barge in like we own the place?" Ginji glanced nervously from Ban to Shido, as if analyzing his companions.

"We should try infiltration. Chances are, he's got some heavy security…" Ban looked around carefully.

"SNAKEBITE!" As soon as a camera came into view of Ban's keen eyes, he waited for it to turn away before crushing it in his vice-like grip.

"All clear," he called out solemnly.

It took, altogether, the entire day to search the building. No trace of the document, but tons of guards securing such an empty place. More fatiguing was the fighting than the searching.

And then it was on to the next mansion.

Tirelessly, the Get Backers stealthily went from one house to the next, restless with anticipation and anxiety.

Finally, they reached the last one.

"He's probably in there… Harasumi Irozaku himself. He wasn't in the others, so it's most probable. And if he's in there, the certificate must be too." Ban scanned the room for cameras, but frowned when he found none. And there weren't any traces of guards…

Shido kept close watch to see if anyone snuck up from behind, and Ginji carefully watched above and below. Ban had a keen eye from what lay ahead.

"No cameras, Ban-chan?"

"Ginji… go blow the fuse. I have a bad feeling about all of this…" Ban pointed at a socket nearby. His beautiful face was downcast with worry.

"No problem."

Ginji shoved his fingernail into the socket, taking a deep breath, then immediately and quickly sending a spurt of strong electricity through the entire network of wires in the house. The lights sputtered out and the house became quiet. The heating was now disabled, so it was beginning to become very cold inside.

"We have to be done quickly before we freeze to death," Shido whispered. Ban and Ginji nodded in agreement.

Trekking softly over the plush red carpets, they made their way through the hallways, animals secretly stalking their prey.

Shido cursed under his breath as he tripped over a thin, almost invisible wire, which triggered hundreds of needles that shot out of the wall to the right.

If Ban hadn't pushed him out of the way in that split-second, he would've been a part of the wall that was completely camouflaged in tiny, sharp, steel needles.

"Watch it, Monkey Tamer," Ban warned, getting up and straightening himself out.

Too shocked for anything else, Shido nodded and got up as well. Ginji looked relieved to see them both okay and puncture-free.

"None of this pertains to any house I know," Ginji said softly, his eyes darting around the room, searching for more traps.

"Just be careful," Ban hissed quietly.

Again they trudged through the mansion, taking care not to trip. Ginji provided light through a small, bright flashlight he had kept from finding on the street.

All of a sudden, Ginji stopped dead in his tracks.

"B-Ban-chan! SHIDO! I CAN'T MOVE!" he half-whispered, half-yelled.

"Ginji… don't try to struggle." Ban moved toward Ginji and as soon and he was within two metres of the other Get Backer, his foot stuck fast and could only move very slightly.

"It's a very, very powerful magnet, Ginji. It's holding us down by the iron in our blood."

"It seems Ginji has more iron that most," Shido assessed, but didn't jump in the circumference of the 'magnet'. He cautiously touched a fingertip to the very outer limits of the magnet, and was dismayed to find it stuck and didn't move at all.

"And so do you, Shido," Ban almost-chuckled. He found he could still move, save for the back of his neck, which felt strangely heavy. He shook the feeling off and struggled toward Ginji.

"Hit me with as much electricity as you can, Ginji," he ordered.

"No… I couldn't… not to you, Ban-chan."

"Do as I say, Ginji!"

Reluctantly, Ginji charged and shocked Ban with all he could. Suddenly, the magnet relinquished its hold on Ginji and Shido.

"Ban-chan!"

Ban lay unmoving on the ground. Ginji prodded him gently with his finger, "Ban-chan?"

A quick jolt of electricity brought Ban back to the world of the conscious. He blinked and rubbed his temples.

"Ouch… being an electromagnet hurts more than I thought…" he winked at Ginji.

"You repelled the magnetic pull? Pretty smart, Snake Bastard…" Shido looked impressed, "And you didn't get stuck to the magnet…?"

"Well… I was told I had less iron in my body than I needed…" Ban grinned and began to walk off.

"Let's go. We need to find this thing before something unpleasant happens." Ginji smiled and followed after Ban obediently. Shido shrugged and tagged along.

"I don't suppose you know where this thing is—" Shido was cut off as soon as Ban opened a door. There, on the table, was the document.

"How did you find that out?"

"Oh, it's simple. You see, the bad guy will always put the thing in PLAIN VIEW, just WAITING to be stolen. Then, as soon as you touch the damned thing, you've either tripped a laser which burns you to death or triggers an alarm that signals some pretty hefty security to come and beat you up." Ban shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't even WANT to know how you figured that out…" Shido rolled his eyes.

"But… Ban-chan… how do we GET it?" Ginji looked completely puzzled.

Shaking his head, Ban just grabbed the paper. Nothing happened.

"You fried every single wire in this entire mansion. Nothing can happen. That's also why we could get in here… didn't you notice the ELECTRIC power lock?" Ban seemed to have everything down to the last minute detail.

"Now that's over and done with, let's get out of here." Shido grabbed Ban and Ginji and tore through the corridors, surprisingly enough not bumping into anyone and actually finding their way out.

"Looks like another successful mission!" Ginji chirped. He smiled at Ban, only to find a grim expression tightening his partner's thin lips.

"You spoke to soon, thief!" a deep, gravelly voice mocked. Ginji bit his lip.

The Get Backers were surrounded completely by heavily armed, enormous men at least four times the size of Shido, who wasn't exactly Mary Poppins. The aforementioned men began to close in on the three retrieval specialists.

"Stay calm," Ban muttered through gritted teeth, so quiet that Ginji barely heard but Shido didn't seem to be listening, "Don't make any sudden moves."

Guards steadily advanced on the three teens in the center of their circle of predators.

And in a flurry of movement, every single man was on the floor, eyes wide and unseeing. Ban cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"They didn't even see what hit them," Shido sighed and shook his head.

Honestly, he felt sorry for the guards. But as a matter of fact, he felt sorry for any of Ban's opponents.

"More like what 'bit' them. Snakes strike quickly anyhow." Ban put his hands in his pockets.

Ginji could feel raw adrenaline and energy radiating from Ban, tendrils of blue fire licking out of his skin.

Ban's deep blue eyes darted around the room, quickly devising an escape plan. Yet soon, these self-same eyes widened in a mix of shock and pain, then went completely blank in a flash of blood. And the next thing either Shido or Ginji knew, Ban was a bloody massacre on the floor.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

bffimagine: Wanna find out what happens next? Well, review! Anyone guess bout the 'heavy back of the neck'?


	3. Chapter 3

Bffimagine: To all of your elation, I'm almost done this fic! YAY!

Ban: Finally! Jus get the torture over with!

Bffimagine: (Cough cough) MUAHAHA! Gladly. ;)

"B-Ban-chan?"

Red blood trailed along the floor, blobs of crimson that kept pooling deeper and deeper, wider and wider around Ban.

"What could've done this…" Shido stooped down and gently touched Ban's cheek. It was cold.

A cold, heartless laugh filled both the beast master and the thunder lord's ears. Their eyes followed the sound to its source, a figure clad in deep green pants and a grass green shirt.

From this figure's fingers hung knives, small, sharp knives, on clear, thin-but-durable nylon thread.

"Kazu-chan?" Ginji uttered in disbelief.

The figure snorted.

"Who is Kazu-chan?" it smirked.

"Akabane?" Shido narrowed his eyes.

Again the figure snorted.

"Of course not. Akabane is always dressed in black."

It was then the figure came out of the shadows.

Indeed, he was not Kazuki, for his features were masculine and very defined, with a square jaw and wide mouth with sneering lips. And he definitely wasn't Akabane, whose face was pale and always shadowed with quiet, sly menacing. This figure had dark skin with a broad shoulder-line and had openness to his face that allowed you to read every emotion that ran through it.

"Who are you?"

"You don't know me? I'm Harasumi Irozaku."

Shido's eyes widened.

'He looks exactly as he did in the picture…'

Trying hard to remember any other details, Shido gasped his hair in his hands.

'And in Ban's sketch.'

Before he knew it, a knife was whizzing by his nose. It was then that Ban stirred. He forced himself up, even though in great pain. His face was flushed in agony and effort, and sweat dripped down the side of his cheek.

"Ban-chan!" Ginji was about to run to hug his companion, but was stopped short when suddenly, Ban was in front of him, panting, holding a knife on strings between his index and middle finger.

"Ginji… watch yourself."

The blonde paled at the breathless sound of Ban's voice. All the restless energy that had literally pulsed from the brown-haired Get Backer had vanished; died as a soft whisper does on the cold midnight air.

Ban lurched as a knife impaled him through the back, though he was quite relieved in his moment of suffering that Ginji and Shido were unharmed. Before he went down, he summoned the last of his strength to look Irozaku straight in the eye.

Harasumi awoke to the sensation of someone shaking him. He sat up and looked around, only to see his butler bowing courteously.

"Forgive me, Master Irozaku, but I believe you had quite an unpleasant dream, judging by your tossing and turning, so I woke you."

"That's fine, Kiuro, I'll be going back to sleep now."

He pulled the soft white blankets over him again and was soon fast asleep.

Shido wiped the sweat off his forehead as he shoved Irozaku none too gently under the covers on the luxurious bed in the man's mansion as Ban had told him to do. Meanwhile, Ginji was tending to the full-blooded witch.

"The bleeding won't stop!" Ginji cried out in consternation.

Biting his lip, Shido took a careful look at the unconscious teen in Ginji's arm. He was bleeding profusely and the blood showed no signs of letting up.

"We have to get him out of here." Shido tried to pull the knife from Ban's back, but it was in too deep. In the end, he had to give it a yank before it was set loose, cutting the wound open further and allowing a fresh flow of crimson blood.

Sniffing the blade warily, Shido shook his head in frustration.

"It was poisoned."

Ginji felt the blood drain out of his face.

"And…?"

"Well… I think it stops the clotting of blood, and probably makes the victim really sick… but I don't have any idea as to what else it could do…"

"Ban-chan already has a fever," Ginji breathed as he pulled his fingers away from Ban's burning skin.

"It's an incredibly dangerous one too… we'd better get his temperature down."

"Right. Let's get out of here."

Nodding, Shido carefully picked Ban up in a fashion he felt aggravated the wound the least, and began to run, Ginji clipping at his heels.

"What is the antidote for the poison?"

"I think the poison was derived from some sort of plant. If we can find that plant, maybe we can find the antidote that pertains to it."

"He'll be okay, right Shido-kun?"

"I hope, Ginji, I—" Shido was cut off when he could suddenly feel the sick, twisted sensation of Ban's life seeping away. It was the feeling of slipping on hard ice in the winter, the moment just before you hit the ground, when your stomach ties in knots as you just wait for the pain to crash down on you in an avalanche of agony. It was the feeling you get when you run up a road, expecting smooth, even flooring but realizing it's much like climbing level stairs, and the funny tingly sensation when your foot is about to touch every single ridge, when you feel yourself lose your balance, your ankle twist and snap under your weight, and the sight of the sharp rock your head is aimed for…

"He's going fast, Ginji," Shido whispered to his comrade.

Ginji felt the feeling too. It was like turning around to sit on a nonexistent chair, when you can't see what's behind you, and you sit, but plummet through thin air and you just wait for the impact. You feel immobilized, yet you have all means to save yourself… but you know you can't do anything.

Or when you flick a light switch, and the split-second you think it isn't going to turn on, that small flutter of panic. This panic grows worse when it turns out the light doesn't work…

Shido and Ginji had finally made it out of the building and were still running as fast as they could toward nowhere in particular, but somehow, they knew they were running somewhere.

"Ginji… He's…"

"Don't say it, Shido! Please, just don't say it…"

And when the light fails to flicker then steady into a bright, beckoning light, and instead simply flickers then dies, not having the strength nor will to turn on.

"He's not… he's not… Ban-chan…" Large, warm brown eyes filled with glistening tears. This was the pain as you made hard contact with the icy, frozen asphalt or when you crashed into the ground after sitting in a nonexistent chair. It was the feeling when your light failed to shine.

And is was the feeling of hollowness, as if someone scooped out your insides with a giant melon-baller, then threw them into a fire so you could watch them burn and just watch your heart stop beating, even though you can feel the pulsations in your parched throat.

'_It's the feeling of ITSUMO, Ginji. The feeling of forever._'

Ginji shook his head. This was the part where you heard the voices in your head. And this was Ban's voice, gentle and warm, the kind of tone he saved for Ginji and Ginji alone. This was when the heart beat its last pulse and the lungs shriveled, as you watched yourself die and could feel it slipping away…

It was when you opened curtains just to find it was the dark night.

No more brilliant sunrises.

No more soft, blue dusks when the stars were just barely visible in the deep blue cotton candy haze.

This was when you lost your ground and were just about to tumble down the stairs…

But somehow, someone you loved caught you around the waist, pulled you up, held you close as if you were the most important thing in the world. Then bonked you on the head and said, "IDIOT! You could've killed yourself just now!"

"GINJI!"

"Huh?" Ginji came out of his grief-induced daydream state and looked at Shido.

"I just said… he might make it through after all." Shido smiled.

"Ban-chan?"

"His heart… suddenly started beating again, and then he started to breathe… it's… a miracle. That's the only way to explain it."

That was the feeling you get when you wake from a horrible nightmare and you find yourself in someone's warm, welcoming arms, and you know that for that instant, you are completely safe and secure. There are little miracles and big miracles in life. Little miracles are when you are a child and your father reads you a bedtime story; big miracles are when you can open your eyes even though they were already open. When you find you have a cut but couldn't feel the pain until you saw it and the blood that seeped from your skin. Because even though you feel the pain, You know it isn't really there, and that nothing can hurt you.

That's a big miracle. But there's another kind of miracle in the world. It's—

"BAN-CHAN!"

Ginji hugged Ban, drawing him up into his arms and holding him as close as humanly possible.

"Never die again," he whispered into Ban's hair.

Big miracles can be small too, though. They can be the feeling of holding your loved one is your arms, or having someone hug you after a hard day. Most of all, it's when someone whispers softly to you…

"Aishiteru, Ginji. Itsumo."

Ban smiled despite himself. He had died, and it felt like when you watched the doctor insert a syringe into your arm, expecting the worst, but finding it doesn't really hurt that much. Then it was simply blissfully white, until he felt warm, wet tears on his face, and he decided that no matter how slippery the rope, he was going to hold fast and climb right to the top.

"Aishiteru, Ban-chan. Itsumo."

The feeling of knowing you're not going to let go of the rope.

_Itsumo._

()

OWARI

()  
bffimagine: Okay! It's FINALLY done!

Ban: Ugh. I died again.

Ginji: Not quite, Ban-chan. You ALMOST died.

Ban: That counts too. Now all of you, review before she gets any new ideas!


End file.
